Nav station

I thought about the same thing for a small dinette.  My project bogged down because of a lack of head room and the short distance between the galley and the companionway bulkhead.  Perhaps seating one as would be the case for a nav station it will work better.

What about mounting a flat box on a rotating post as others here have done for cabin tables?  This would leave the berth intact and still allow you to create a navigation station.

Here is one more thought -- what about going electronic with your charts?  Commercial shipping is going this way very quickly, and the boating industry is beginning to follow suit.  Not as reliable as paper charts, but more compact for our tiny boats.  I am heading in this direction for my boat and have been collecting all the necessary pieces.  When I am done I hope to run Charts, GPS, weather instruments and Radar all through a laptop computer. 

Good luck with your project!

Wonder if anyone has tried this....I am planning on removing the board which backs the head and conceals the hoses for same and reinstalling on a pivot at the base, permitting both better access to these parts and the board to drop down into a table (over the head).  Will buildout a small seat resting over edge of opposite bottom of wet locker "oval" (likely removeable so that I can use same on bottom hatch board or as a small table surface on the trim around the sink area, if I can get the engineering right)...with better positioned lighting, a few adds for holding charts and small instruments, will have a nice place to snug in firm in a blow for navigation...

Thoughts?

First, well noted the comments on using the laptop for navigation.  I would be very interested to learn more details of your setup.  I agree about carrying paper charts as a backup!

Interesting to hear that some of you have a board to hide the head hoses.  Perhaps my 1976-built Contessa is more spartan because the hoses are all exposed!

Although I like the idea of making more use of the head area on our boats, I personally would be resistant to placing a navigation station here because of the increased motion in the bow, and because of the difficulty of balancing on the head when on starboard tack.  Being seated in the lee quarterberth is a relief when the conditions are bouncy.  There is nowhere else to fall!

Good day Peter! 

A board between the sink and the icebox on which to sit was high on my list of jobs for next season.  Maybe if the eBay gods are kind they will offer me a bronze folding pilot's seat -- just the thing for this job.

I was not enthousiastic about facing aft doing my navigating though.

However, you may be on to something.  I once built a Murphy bed -- a bed that folds against the wall when not in use.  On the back of the bed I mounted a desk. 

So, take the ideas we have tossed around here in this thread.  Rig a removable seat near the galley setup facing forward.  The seat would preferably be attached to one quarterberth with a gap that would allow a person to pass without taking down the seat.  One of those folding pilot seats would be just the thing.

Then make a box, 4-5" deep hinged to outside of the door of the head.  Folded down when not in use it would not project much into the companionway.  However, when the door of the head is open (i.e. door facing aft), the box could be folded up to the level of the galley.  Voila -- a fair sized chart table, or additional galley counter space.  If deadbolts were used to connect the box to the galley, this configuration would be very strong.

The only challenge would be that everything would heel when under sail.  One would need to fasten everything down.  (I suppose this is normal on our boats!  )

Any other ideas?

I think you are on to something here Christopher! That seat looks good. I am going to do some measuring, to see how big it can be. I don't even have a door that closes the head area! Maybe I can tackle that at the same time.
Cheers.
Peter